Regan, 081276 MSAGO, 1976-0002

• Case Date: August 12, 1976
• Court: Mississippi

Honorable William Ben Regan No. 1976-0002 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions August 12, 1976          Honorable William Ben Regan          County Attorney          Post Office Box 501          Magnolia, Mississippi 39652          Ability of County Board of Supervisors to order Sheriff to Dismiss Deputies           Dear Mr. Regan:          Attorney General Summer has received your letter of request and has assigned it to this writer for research and reply.

In your letter of August 11, 1976, you state: “The Sheriff of Pike County, Mississippi has asked me to write you regarding the ability of a County Board of Supervisors to order a Sheriff to dismiss deputies for cause, particularly where the Board has received complaints regarding the Deputy Sheriff or whether the Board of Supervisors of a county can order the Sheriff to discharge a deputy for economic reasons.”

         Section 19-25-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, provides as follows:

Every Sheriff shall have power to appoint one or more deputies to assist him in carrying out the duties of his office, every such appointment to be in writing, to remove them at pleasure, and to fix their compensation, subject to the budget for the Sheriff's Office approved by the county board of supervisors . . . all sheriffs shall be liable for the acts of their deputies, and for money collected by them. The circuit court, after a notice and a hearing, shall have power to remove such deputies and also

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